Flash Gordon [Blu-ray]

Cheesy but a lot of fun.

I saw one reviewer saying they bought their copy of Flash Gordon for a special ‘Bad Movie Night’, concluding their three star review by stating that it was great for this purpose, but they couldn’t finish it because ‘it was too bad!’ Ugh… now there is one party full of miserable losers I am glad I never got invited to. I presume these snooty intellectuals couldn’t stand to be out in the open for so long, finally submitting to their desire to retreat into their own backsides where they could talk about their favorite method of roasting artisanal coffee beans or whatever in peace. I despise these people. Flash Gordon is a simply fantastic piece of movie-making. No qualification needed. My original copy of Flash Gordon was recorded (badly) off the TV onto a VHS tape, adverts and all. As a kid, I must have watched this movie a million times. I didn’t see it as ‘camp’, or ‘tacky’, or ‘so bad it’s good’. I just thought it was awesome. Aliens, rocket cycles with lasers, fights to the death… I loved this movie. - I love the sequence when they fly the rocket into space - I love the part with the football game before Ming - I love the bit in the swamp with that thing that bites people - I love the bit where Flash battles Barin before he saves his life. Then they kill the metal dude and (spoiler alert) his eyes ooze out. Amazing. - I love the part where they can’t strip the scientist dude’s memory because humans are so awesome. - I especially love the part where Flash rides in on the rocket cycle and they turn on all the laser cannons and that one stupid woman in the black is like ‘don’t be alarmed’ but you know it’s about to hit the pan because WHO WANTS TO LIVE FOREVER! - I love the effects, the noise Ming’s ring makes. - The soundtrack is easily the best soundtrack to any movie ever made. - I love how the main dude that plays Flash Gordon selflessly didn’t make any other big movies after this one, even though I’m sure he could have been huge after putting in such a timeless performance, purely so that he is rightly only remembered for this pinnacle of movie making. My kid is now five, and the time has come to introduce him to the best movie of all time and so I ordered my copy. I have already prepared the adoption papers on the off-chance that he doesn’t like it, but I am pretty sure he will because come on now, this is Flash Gordon we are talking about here.

Just what I wanted

First off, let me say I love this movie. Its the perfect blend of hokey effects, brilliant set and costume design, tongue in cheek dialogue and a killer Queen soundtrack. (Ha! See what I did there?) This movie is the ultimate cult film because its incredibly faithful to its source material, perfectly paced and wonderfully cast, all the while never taking itself seriously. Max Von Sydow delivers a deliciously sinister performance as meglomaniacal Ming, Sam Jones as the titular hero, a young and perfectly cast Timothy Dalton as Prince Barin and Brian Blessed for cryin out loud! Nostalgic passion for this movie aside, I have to say this is one of the best conversions to blu ray I've ever seen. Watch it on an LED tv because the so called "soap opera effect" actually enhances the movies practical and green screen effects. The sound is well done and engrossing from the weird ray sound effect in the opening sequence, to the pounding onset of the bass in the band's amazing score as they announce the arrival of FLASH!! in harmony, to the sickening "slooorch" of Ming sliding off the end of his demise. If you've never seen this movie, I won't spoil that scene but its some of the best sexual innuendo ever put to film! If you're a fan of campy sci fi, Queen or just want an entertaining and visually appealing way to spend two hours on a Sunday afternoon, this is a must see and you owe it to yourself to have it on blu ray. Well worth the current selling price of $9.99! FLASH!! AH-Ahhh...he's a miracle!

I am a huge fan of the original movie serials of the 1930’s and 40’s, starring Buster Crabbe. These were true masterpieces (especially the first serial). Nonetheless—for thirty years—I have been resistant towards watching this early 80’s take on Flash Gordon. This was primarily because the few clips I had seen of this movie (i.e. Flash riding the sky cycle, and hawkmen flying with their stiff plastic wings) invoked an image of a movie that was so cheap, it looked arguably cheesier and campier than the orginal 1936 serial. The 1936 serial had an excuse for looking cheesy—it was 1936! Furthermore, for the time, the old serials were not particularly cheesy or cheap. Although these were not big budget extravaganzas a la “The Wizard of Oz” or “Bride of Frankenstein,” Republic Pictures still poured a fair amount of money and care into them, relatively speaking, producing some revolutionary visuals that would inspire sci-fi filmmakers for decades to come—including George Lucas. And believe me, had the 1936 Flash Gordon HAD an enormous “Wizard of Oz”-level budget, it would have been amazing (never underestimate the filmmakers of that era). Thus, that brings us to the late 70’s, early 80’s—and Universal decides to do a modern reboot. I noticed one reviewer here on Amazon mentioned (paraphrasing) that this version of Flash represented about what he expected visually from this era. On the contrary, one must remember this was the era of “The Empire Strikes Back” “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” and “The Wrath of Khan”—not to mention “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial.” There’s every reason to expect a big 1980’s sci-fi release from a major studio (Universal) to be on that same kind of visual level. Instead, the visual sophistication of this version of Flash is more on par with the 1936 serial than “Star Wars” or “E.T.” (And when I say “sophistication,” I’m not referring to style (i.e. the 1930’s art deco retro-future this film tries to emulate—I’m totally for that) I mean the difference between a movie that looks amazing and one that looks laughably cheep.). So what do we have here?... Well, now that I’ve matured (shut up), I’m at a point that I can look back at this film with a greater appreciation of what was done than I would have at 10 years old, 20 years old, or even 30 years old—when I would have expected much more from a “modern” film of the 1980’s. What I can say is...it’s not that bad. It’s actually enjoyable—and it looks much better on blu-ray than the clips I had seen might have previously indicated. While, yes, it does look cheap compared to other sci-fi films of the era, it gets away with it specifically because it doesn’t take itself seriously. Quite conscious of the fact that they obviously had a very limited budget, the filmmakers fully embraced that—and crafted a beautifully colorful comedy spoof of the original 1930’s serial—creating a 1930’s style visual homage that’s actually quite well done; it's just short of a shot-for-shot remake that’s very lovingly crafted, only with tongue planted firmly in cheek. It’s laughably cheesy—and they did it on purpose! The script could have been better, less nonsensical while still being humorous—and it’s too bad that they didn’t have a better budget. I would have loved to have seen a full blown 30’s retro-future done with a more modern Star Wars-like sophistication, but they did well with what they had—and I appreciate how they so lovingly honored the source material (both the original comic strip and the original serial). And also—Queen!!! Who can ask for better in terms of music? By the way, there’s a reviewer who was angered that the bulk of the Queen soundtrack had been “removed.” Untrue. The entire Queen soundtrack remains in its full glory. Be aware, if you’re expecting Queen to sing multiple songs throughout, that never happens. There’s never been more than two songs in the soundtrack with lyrics. The rest is all instrumental combining elements of heavy metal and classical/orchestral—but it’s all composed by Queen. And it’s fantastic.

I remember snippets of the film. Great watching again

Se ve bien la pelicula sin ningun defecto

esta buena la pelicula hay que verla

Blue Ray conversion of this cult classic is Superb with 1080p Hi Def Transfer displayed in 2:35:1 Widescreen. Sound options are either DTS-HD Audio 5.1, or Dolby Digital 2 Channel. Subtitle options are English, French, & Spanish. This Blue Ray Release also comes with a BD LIVE feature which allows you to access through your internet connected Blue Ray player additional bonus content , the latest trailers, and more. Bonus Features: - Alex Ross Renowned Comic Artist of Flash Gordon: Learn how Flash Gordon influenced this legendary artist, both personally and professionally. - Writing A Classic : Screenwriter Lorenzo Semple Jr. Meet the man who wrote the screenplay that would live on as a cult favorite! - First Episode Of The Flash Gordon 1936 Serial. See where the adventure began in Chapter one: Planet Of Peril. This release is a great addition if you are looking for a nice Hi-Def Blue Ray transfer of Flash Gordon, and want to relive this cheesy low-budget , space sword and sorcerer film, or if it's your first time and you have been curious to finally see this famous Cult Classic. Some of the more well known named actors who star in this cult classic are Timothy Dalton, and Max Von Sydow.

O filme pode não ser tão bom , mas a trilha sonora e outra coisa .

Es gibt Filme, die sich einer objektiven Wertung elegant entziehen – und FLASH GORDON aus dem Jahr 1980 ist definitiv ein solcher. Irgendwie schafft es dieser Film, gnadenlos zu polarisieren, und ich kenne tatsächlich nur Personen, welche ihn entweder vollkommen übel oder aber großartig finden. Als ähnlich polarisierendes Machwerk fällt mir spontan (zumindest wenn es um SF geht) eigentlich nur noch „Barbarella“ mit Jane Fonda ein – eben ein Film, der völlig eigen ist, die Grenzen zwischen Kunst und Trash komplett hinfällig macht und dennoch ins kollektive Unterbewusstsein der Genrefans und der Popkultur Einzug gehalten hat. Ich muss einräumen: ich gehöre zu der Fraktion, die FLASH GORDON einfach sehr spaßig und grandios findet. FLASH GORDON ist, das dürfte Einigkeit herrschen, ein knallbuntes und überdrehtes Erlebnis – und ein Film, welcher sich (natürlich) keine Sekunde lang ernst nimmt und den man auch keine Sekunde ernst nehmen kann. Die Logik des Ganzen darf man natürlich zu keiner Zeit hinterfragen, und letztlich lebt der Film genau davon, dass man sich ganz kindlich der Handlung hingibt und sich einfach zurücklehnt und ein durchgedrehtes Abenteuer genießt. Hierzu passen auch die Schauspieler – sicherlich wird Brian Blessed popkulturell gerne auf seine Rolle des Vultan reduziert (woran er selbst aber auch kräftig mitwirkte), aber auch Max von Sydow, Timothy Darlton oder Ornela Muti machen ihren Job bombig. Schön finde ich, wie man den einzigartigen Look der Flash Gordon Serials aus den 30ern mit der Technik des Jahres 1980 umgesetzt hat. Hinzu kommt natürlich auch, unvergessen: der Soundtrack von Queen, welcher diesem Film eben auch eine ganz eigenen, knalligen und schrägen Charakter verleiht. Ich kann durchaus verstehen, dass dieser Film auch manchen Zuschauern fürchterlich auf den Geist geht – wie gesagt, dass FLASH GORDON auch irgendwie polarisiert scheint in diesem Fall ein ganz wichtiges Charakteristikum des Films zu sein. Dazu passt es ja auch, dass der Film im Kino trotz großer Kampagne floppte (außer wiederrum in England selbst), sich dann aber über die Jahre zum Kulthit mauserte. In meinen Augen ist dieser Film jedenfalls ein Werk, welches die Zeit überdauert hat und auch nach bald 40 Jahren noch ein echtes Erlebnis ist.